This dot in the distance is my fish kite when it was half-way up
Some of my enthusiastic helpers
We now have in Quy Nhon a truly amazing fountain. It has been built as part of the city’s beautification for the festival at the beginning of August. Like many others in the city I have been down to watch it for the last two evenings and it is a sight to behold.
A pool almost as big as an Olympic swimming pool has been constructed in a nearby park. In it are hundreds of jets that display a seemingly endless array of synchronized fountains which are brightly lit with many colors. Last night on my own, and this evening with Anne and Adeline, I have joined the large crowd of sightseers admiring this creation. I have particularly enjoyed the reaction of the crowds – in unison people gasp and exclaim oohs and aahs in response to the changing display. It is great fun. Some people have been complaining about the expense but it has certainly proven to be a great entertainment for the locals and will probably become a tourist attraction. I tried to take some photos but without a tripod they were not particularly successful.
In the park there were also people letting off big white paper lanterns lit with a flame. These glowed brightly as they rose high into the sky. I would love to have a try with one. In he festival I am particularly looking forward a flower and lantern show at the lagoon. One of the advantages of being so much taller than almost everyone here is that it is easy for me to get a good view even in a crowd!
Yesterday evening I also decided to join the kite flying crowd. Most evenings in the park 40 or 50 people fly kites. I have been hesitant to join in because I was worried that I would get tangled with the others and create absolute chaos but I finally decided to give it a go. Unfortunately these are not the beautiful handcrafted kites of Kite Runner fame. Almost all are commercially made from bright nylon but they do look great massed in the sky. My kite is a large blue and orange shark. I found a place in the field with as much space as possible and got it to fly without any problems. I was soon joined by a large group of children. They were keen to help me and to have turns holding the string. I had in my pocket a smiley face stamp that Jenny had given me and this proved a great hit too. Within a few minutes dozens of kids, from babies to teens were running around with green smiley faces decorating their hands and forearms.
Before long some adults came to join me too. I was flying my kite with only half of the very long string out because I didn’t want to spend ages winding it up but this was not good enough for one woman who clearly decided that I didn’t know what I was doing. She took it from me and insisted on letting it out to its full length before returning it triumphantly to me. It was a lovely time – even though I could not converse beyond the usual “Hello, what’s you name?, where you from?, how old are you?” conversation it felt great to be joining in a communal activity. All of the kites are only of the single string variety – it would be great to see their reaction to a two string kite.
This evening we went to a different small restaurant for ban xeo (yummy prawn pancakes). I picked up the tab for all four people, 20,000 VND (about 40 cents each). We then went for sinh to and a bike ride along the beach front. It was a lovely way to spend a warm, balmy evening – I cannot even imagine being in the cold of New Zealand.
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